JP7657075B2 - Cooling Storage - Google Patents

Description

This technology relates to refrigerated storage.

Conventionally, cooling storage units have been known that cool the inside of a storage chamber made of a thermally insulated housing to store the contents in the storage chamber in a cooled state. Various measures have been taken to prevent condensation caused by the temperature difference between the outside air and the inside of the storage unit. For example, the following Patent Document 1 discloses a cooling storage unit that has a water absorption and release member that absorbs and releases water at the molecular level in at least a portion of the area that comes into contact with the outside air.

JP 2014-043972 A

Condensation in a refrigerated storage cabinet is particularly likely to occur in the seal of the door attached to the front opening of the storage room, for example, and the water absorbing and releasing member disclosed in Patent Document 1 is useful as a dew prevention means for dealing with such localized condensation. However, depending on the installation conditions of the refrigerated storage cabinet, condensation may occur over a wide area of the side walls of the refrigerated storage cabinet. Condensation on the side walls of the refrigerated storage cabinet can not only cause hygiene problems, but also cause problems for facilities that use dry floors or water leak detection floors if water droplets caused by condensation drip and fall on the installation surface of the refrigerated storage cabinet.

This technology was developed based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to prevent condensation from forming on the side walls of a cooling storage unit.

The cooling storage according to the present technology includes an insulated housing having a storage chamber for storing a storage object, a cooling device for cooling the storage chamber, and a blower unit provided outside the insulated housing and capable of blowing air along the outer surface of the side wall of the insulated housing. The insulated housing of the cooling storage is structured such that the inside of the housing has a hollow structure and is filled with a heat insulating material, so that the cold air inside the housing is not easily transmitted to the outside. However, strictly speaking, the cold air inside the housing may be transmitted to the outer surface of the insulated housing by passing through the housing. In such a case, when the surroundings of the cooling storage are widely open, the insulated housing exchanges heat with the surrounding atmosphere quickly, so that the temperature of the outer surface is not very different from the ambient temperature, and there is no need to worry about condensation. However, when multiple cooling storages are installed close to each other or next to a wall, for example, and heat exchange is difficult, the temperature of the outer surface of the insulated housing decreases, and condensation is likely to occur on the outer surface of the cooling storage. According to the above configuration, the blower unit can blow air along the outer surface of the side wall of the insulated housing, and heat exchange on the outer surface of the insulated housing can be promoted. As a result, condensation can be prevented even if the area around the cooling storage unit is not widely open.

In a preferred embodiment of the present technology, the ventilation unit includes a leg that supports the insulated housing from below, an exterior box that is box-shaped and has an inlet hole for taking in air and an outlet hole for sending out air, and a ventilation fan housed inside the exterior box, and the exterior box is provided on the bottom surface of the insulated housing with the outlet hole facing upward, and a part of the exterior box protrudes from the bottom surface so that the outlet hole faces the side wall. According to the above configuration, the ventilation unit is installed between the bottom surface and the floor surface with the part with the outlet hole protruding from the insulated housing. With this configuration, in addition to the above effects, the ventilation unit can be used to preferably blow air along the side wall. Also, the ventilation unit can be attached to the cooling storage without requiring extra installation space. As a result, heat exchange on the outer surface of the insulated housing can be promoted more effectively.

In a preferred embodiment of the present technology, the exterior box has a second outlet hole on a side surface facing a side other than the side protruding from the bottom surface in a direction along the bottom surface. With the above configuration, the air blowing unit can generate an airflow along the bottom surface in addition to an airflow along the side surface of the insulated housing. For example, by providing an outlet hole on the side surface facing the opposite side to the side protruding from the bottom surface of the exterior box, an airflow toward the center of the bottom surface can be generated. This can promote heat exchange on the bottom surface of the insulated housing as well, and can more effectively prevent condensation from occurring on the outer surface of the insulated housing.

In a preferred embodiment of the present technology, the insulated housing has an attachment portion made of a magnetic material, and the air blowing unit has a magnet portion that can be attached to the attachment portion to attach the air blowing unit to the insulated housing. With the above configuration, the air blowing unit can be easily attached to the insulated housing without using special fasteners or the like. In addition, the air blowing unit can be easily attached and detached, and the air blowing unit can be easily attached at an appropriate time depending on the installation conditions of the cooling storage unit, etc.

In a preferred embodiment of the present technology, the legs include a first leg that supports the insulated housing at a first position and a second leg that supports the insulated housing at a second position different from the first position, and the outer box includes a pair of mounting pieces that extend in one direction at the upper end, and the pair of mounting pieces are attached to the insulated housing by being clamped between the first leg and the second leg and the insulated housing, respectively. With this configuration, the blower unit can be attached to the insulated housing with good workability without using special fasteners, etc. Furthermore, the blower unit is prevented from shifting or falling off due to vibrations caused when the blower fan or cooling device is driven. This effect is further enhanced when the legs are configured to be fastened to the insulated housing. In addition, the number of parts can be reduced.

In a preferred embodiment of the present technology, the exterior box includes a slide case that opens upward and houses the blower fan, a base portion that is provided on the bottom surface of the insulated housing and in which the outlet holes are arranged, and a guide case that has a pair of guide portions that extend downward at one end and the other end along one direction of the base portion and are extended in directions facing each other to support the slide case from below. With this configuration, the blower unit can be easily attached to the insulated housing without using special fasteners or the like. In addition, the blower unit can be easily attached and detached, and the blower unit can be easily attached when necessary depending on the installation situation of the cooling storage unit, and the configuration can be made to be easy to maintain.

In a preferred embodiment of the present technology, the heat-insulating housing comprises a storage body having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with an opening at the front, and a door that can open and close the opening, and the side wall is at least one of a left side wall disposed to the left of the storage body and a right side wall disposed to the right, and at least one end of the side wall in the front-to-rear direction is provided with a plate-shaped air guide that rises outward in the left-to-right direction and extends up and down the side wall. With the above configuration, it is possible to prevent the airflow generated along the side wall from the air blowing unit from deviating from the side wall toward the front or rear. This promotes the generation of an airflow in the vertical direction, and allows the side of the cooling storage to be cooled more effectively. This configuration is particularly effective when one air blowing unit has multiple fans or generates a strong airflow.

In a preferred embodiment of the present technology, the air guide is made of an opaque material and has a transparent window in a portion thereof. With the above configuration, the occurrence of condensation on the side wall can be visually confirmed through the window. This makes it possible, for example, to start the operation of the air blowing unit when condensation occurs, and to stop the operation of the air blowing unit when the condensation is eliminated. As a result, it is possible to reduce the operating costs of the air blowing unit.

In a preferred embodiment of the present technology, the insulated housing comprises a box-shaped storage body with an opening at the front and a door that can open and close the opening, and the height dimension of the insulated housing is greater than the front-to-rear dimension of the insulated housing. The larger the height dimension of a cooling storage housing, the more likely it is that condensation will occur when the periphery is not widely open. The above configuration is suitable for use in a vertical cooling storage housing with a large vertical dimension, as it can better demonstrate its effects.

This technology can prevent condensation from forming on the side walls of a cooling storage unit, even if the periphery of the side walls of the cooling storage unit is not widely open.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooling storage unit according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the cooling storage unit of FIG. Enlarged view of the main part of Figure 1 FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main part of the cooling storage unit of FIG. 1 as viewed from below; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a blower unit provided in the cooling storage unit of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is another exploded perspective view of the blower unit provided in the cooling storage unit of FIG. 1; FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a blower unit according to another embodiment; FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a cooling storage unit according to another embodiment; FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the cooling storage unit of FIG. FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of an air guide provided in the cooling storage unit of FIG. 8; FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a main part showing an attachment structure of the upper end of the air guide; FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a main part showing an attachment structure of a lower end of the air guide; FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating an air guide according to another embodiment; FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the air guide of FIG. 13 . FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating an air guide according to another embodiment; FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a main part of a cooling storage unit according to another embodiment; FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a blower unit provided in the cooling storage unit of FIG. 16; FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a main part of a cooling storage unit according to another embodiment; FIG. 20 is an exploded perspective view of a blower unit provided in the cooling storage unit of FIG. 18;

<Embodiment 1>
A cooling storage 1 according to one embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6. In this embodiment, a commercial cooling storage 1 used in, for example, a kitchen of a hotel or restaurant is illustrated. This cooling storage 1 can store a relatively large amount of foodstuffs (one example of a storage object) and is configured to maintain high cooling performance even if the door 16 is frequently opened and closed. The cooling storage 1 is equipped with a blower unit 30. The symbols F, Rr, L, R, U, and D shown in the drawings respectively represent the front (near), rear (far), left, right, top, and bottom when the cooling storage 1 is viewed from the front. However, these directions are merely determined for convenience and should not be interpreted in a restrictive manner. In addition, for multiple identical members, a symbol may be attached to one member and the symbols of the other members may be omitted.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the cooling storage 1 is mainly composed of an insulated housing 10 having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the insulated housing 10 is supported by legs 2. The insulated housing 10 in this embodiment is designed to have a sufficiently high height dimension (for example, 1.5 times or more) compared to, for example, a table-type (horizontal) cooling storage. The insulated housing 10 roughly comprises a storage body 11 and a partition column 11B. The storage body 11 is box-shaped with an opening 11A on one side at the front, and is configured by housing an inner box 13 also made of stainless steel plate inside an outer box 12 made of stainless steel plate. The gap between the outer box 12 and the inner box 13 is filled with a thermal insulation material 14 made of foamed resin such as urethane foam. The partition column 11B is cross-shaped and is fixed to the storage body 11 so as to cross the opening 11A at the center in the left-right direction and the center in the height direction. This divides the opening 11A into four sections: top, bottom, left and right.

An insulating door 16 (one example of a door) is attached to the opening 11A of the storage body 11. More specifically, a total of four insulating doors 16 are rotatably attached to the upper and lower parts of the left peripheral part and the upper and lower parts of the right peripheral part of the front of the storage body 11, which is a peripheral part surrounding the opening 11A. The four insulating doors 16 are capable of covering each of the four openings divided into upper, lower, left and right. By closing the opening 11A of the storage body 11 with the insulating doors 16 in this manner, a refrigerator chamber 17 (one example of a storage chamber) is defined. Then, by opening and closing these doors 16, it is possible to put in and take out the storage object from the refrigerator chamber 17. Each insulating door 16 is equipped with a sealing means such as a magnetic packing (not shown) at the door peripheral part that faces the insulating housing 10 and the partition column 11B when the insulating door 16 is closed. By providing the insulating door 16 with a sealing means in this way, the airtightness (and therefore the thermal insulation) of the refrigerator compartment 17 is improved.

Above the insulated housing 10, there is provided a cooling device 20 for cooling the refrigerator compartment 17, and a control device 70 for controlling various operations of the cooling device 20. The cooling device 20 is a heat exchanger in which the inside of a refrigerant pipe 26 (also called a heat transfer pipe) serves as a refrigerant flow path, and includes a compressor 21, a condenser 22, an expansion valve 23 (capillary tube), and a cooler 24 (evaporator), which are connected in this order by the refrigerant pipe 26 to form a known refrigeration cycle. More specifically, the compressor 21, the condenser 22, and the expansion valve 23 of the cooling device 20 are provided in a machine room 19 partitioned above the exterior of the insulated housing 10, together with the control device 70. The refrigerant gas in the refrigeration cycle is compressed by the compressor 21, liquefied in the condenser 22, and sent to the expansion valve 23. The cooler 24 of the cooling device 20 is provided in the refrigerator compartment 17, which is partitioned above the refrigerator compartment 17, together with the internal fan 25. The liquefied refrigerant expanded by passing through the expansion valve 23 vaporizes in the evaporation tube 24, cooling the evaporation tube 24. In the refrigerator compartment 17, the air inside the refrigerator is taken into the refrigerator compartment 17 by the internal fan 25, and is cooled by passing through the surface or periphery of the cooler 24, and is sent to the refrigerator compartment 17 as cold air. The control device 70 appropriately controls the operation of the cooling device 20 and the internal fan 25 based on the temperature detected by an internal thermometer (not shown). As a result, the temperature inside the cooling storage 1 is cooled to a predetermined set temperature and maintained.

In addition, the insulated housing 10 is provided with legs 2 on the periphery of the bottom surface 10B, and the insulated housing 10 is supported from below by the legs 2. More specifically, the insulated housing 10 of this embodiment is provided with legs 2 at each of the four corners of the bottom surface 10B. The first leg 2A provided at the right front corner and the second leg 2B provided at the right rear corner are used to attach the blower unit 30 described later to the bottom surface 10B. Hereinafter, only when the first leg 2A and the second leg 2B are particularly mentioned, the right front and right rear legs 2 are referred to as the first leg 2A and the second leg 2B, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, the leg 2 is provided with a substantially cylindrical leg body 2C and a shaft portion 2D that protrudes coaxially from the upper end of the leg body 2C. In addition, the bottom surface 10B of the thermally insulated housing 10 is provided with mounting holes 10C (see FIG. 12) at the mounting positions of the legs 2. The legs 2 are fixed to the thermally insulated housing 10 by inserting and fitting the shafts 2D of the legs 2 into the mounting holes 10C. In this way, the thermally insulated housing 10 is supported by the four legs 2 at a position higher than the floor surface by the height of the legs 2. The mounting holes 10C and the shafts 2D may be provided with screw grooves and threads so that they can be screwed together.

A blower unit 30 capable of blowing air along the outer surface of the side wall of the insulated housing 10 is provided on the outside of the insulated housing 10. In this embodiment, the blower unit 30 is provided on the right edge of the bottom surface 10B of the insulated housing 10. This blower unit 30 is configured to blow air along the outer surface of the right side wall 11C.

As shown in Figs. 3 to 6, the blower unit 30 is roughly shaped like a flat rectangular parallelepiped that is long in the front-rear direction, and has mounting pieces extending forward and backward in the front-rear direction (one example of one direction). More specifically, the blower unit 30 includes an upper case 31, a lower case 32, a fan 33, a fixing portion 34, and a fan cover 35. In this embodiment, the upper case 31 and the lower case 32 are combined to form a flat rectangular exterior box 30A that houses the fan 33. This exterior box 30A is also configured to function as a duct for the fan 33. The upper case 31 and the lower case 32 are preferably made of at least one of metal and synthetic resin, although this is not limited thereto.

As shown in FIG. 5, the upper case 31 has a cover 31A corresponding to the top surface of the exterior box 30A and a side surface 31B corresponding to the right side surface, and has a cross section of a substantially L-shape formed by bending a substantially rectangular thin plate long in the front-rear direction downward at about 90 degrees at the right end. The right end of the cover 31A, which is continuous with the side surface 31B, is provided with an exhaust section 31E extending in a band shape from front to back, and this exhaust section 31E is provided with a plurality of long holes H1 penetrating in the thickness direction. In this embodiment, the width (horizontal dimension) of the exhaust section 31E is set to about 1 to 5 cm (for example, 2 cm), and a plurality of long holes H1 (9 in the figure) are arranged in three rows. The front and rear ends of the cover 31A are provided with mounting pieces 31C and 31D extending in the front-rear direction, respectively. The front mounting piece 31C is formed with a cutout hole C1 that penetrates from the left end toward the right. The rear mounting piece 31D has a cutout hole C2 that extends from the rear end toward the front. However, the direction in which the cutout holes C1 and C2 extend is not limited to this.

The lower case 32 has a bottom 32A corresponding to the bottom surface of the exterior box 30A, a side surface 32B corresponding to the left side surface, a front surface 32C corresponding to the front surface, and a rear surface 32D corresponding to the rear surface, and is generally box-shaped with openings toward the top and right. The front surface 32C and the rear surface 32D are each provided with an adjustment hole H2 (an example of a second outlet hole) for letting out air inside the blower unit 30. The adjustment holes H2 in this embodiment are multiple holes (four each in the front surface 32C and the rear surface 32D in the figure) with relatively small areas formed in the front surface 32C and the rear surface 32D. In addition, mounting pieces 32E and 32F are respectively extended in the front and rear directions at the front and rear ends of the lower case 32. The front mounting piece 32E has a cutout hole C3 that penetrates from the left end toward the right. The rear mounting piece 32F has a cutout hole C4 that extends from the rear end toward the front. However, the direction in which the cutout holes C3 and C4 extend is not limited to this. Also, the bottom 32A of the lower case 32 has a mounting hole C5 for mounting the fan 33. The fan 33 is supported by the lower case 32 via the fixing part 34 while inserted through the mounting hole C5.

The fan 33 is a device that can send gas in a predetermined direction. The fan 33 in this embodiment is an axial flow fan that generates wind in the direction of the rotation axis of the propeller 33A (see FIG. 6) by rotating the propeller 33A (see FIG. 6), which is a hub that serves as the center of rotation. The propeller 33A has a rotation axis that is arranged along the vertical direction, and the angle of the propeller 33A is set so that it takes in air from below and sends it upward. In this fan 33, the upper part of the propeller 33A is covered by a fan case, and the air sent upward by the propeller 33A hits the case and is sent radially to the side. The fan 33 in this embodiment is a fan motor integrated with an electric motor (not shown). The fan 33 is electrically connected to the control device 70 via the wiring section 33B, and is configured to be able to control operation and stop by the control device 70. However, the configuration of the fan 33 is not limited as long as it can send gas along the outer surface of the side wall of the thermal insulation housing 10 as described above. For example, the fan 33 may be one that is operated by supplying power from an external source, and may be an axial flow fan other than a propeller fan, a cross flow fan, a cross flow fan, a blower, etc.

The fixing part 34 is an element that is installed on the periphery of the mounting hole C5 and fixes the fan 33 to the lower case 32 while the fan 33 is inserted through the mounting hole C5. The fixing part 34 adjusts the mounting position of the fan 33 so that the air intake of the fan 33 is arranged below the lower case 32 (in other words, outside the exterior box 30A) and the air exhaust is arranged above the lower case 32 (in other words, inside the exterior box 30A). The fan 33 and the mounting hole C5 are covered from below by a fan cover 35 having an inlet hole 35A for taking in air. By providing the fan cover 35 on the lower case 32, even if the fan 33 protrudes below the bottom 32A of the lower case 32, damage due to contact with other members is suppressed.

By stacking the upper case 31 and the lower case 32, the upper surface and the right surface of the lower case 32 are covered by the lid portion 31A and the side portion 31B of the upper case 31, and the outer box 30A of the blower unit 30 having a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape is formed. When the upper case 31 and the lower case 32 are stacked, the cutout holes C1 and C2 provided in the mounting pieces 31C and 31D of the upper case 31 and the cutout holes C3 and C4 provided in the mounting pieces 32E and 32F of the lower case 32 are respectively overlapped. In addition, the positions and the cutout depths (lengths) of the cutout holes C1 and C2 and the cutout holes C3 and C4 are configured so that when the blower unit 30 is attached to the thermally insulated housing 10, a part or all of the exhaust section 31E protrudes to the right from the bottom surface 10B of the thermally insulated housing 10. Typically, 1/2 or more (e.g., 2/3 or more, preferably the entirety) of the exhaust section 31E in the width direction protrudes from the insulated housing 10. The blower unit 30 is fixed to the bottom surface 10B of the insulated housing 10 with the upper case 31 and the lower case 32 overlapping in this manner. In this embodiment, the blower unit 30 is attached to the insulated housing 10 so that it protrudes from the insulated housing 10 to the right by about 20 mm.

When attaching the blower unit 30 to the thermally insulated housing 10, for example, the following procedure may be followed. First, the first leg 2A and the second leg 2B are loosened from the mounting holes 10C, and a gap is provided between the bottom surface 10B of the thermally insulated housing 10 and the leg body 2C to the extent that the upper case 31 and the lower case 32 can be inserted. Then, first, the mounting pieces 31D and 32F are inserted into the gap between the leg body 2C of the second leg 2B at the right rear and the bottom surface 10B of the thermally insulated housing 10, and the positions of the mounting pieces 31D and 32F are adjusted so that the shaft 2D of the second leg 2B is inserted into the notch holes C2 and C4. Next, the mounting pieces 31C and 32E are inserted into the gap between the leg body 2C of the first leg 2A at the right front and the bottom surface 10B of the thermally insulated housing 10, and the positions of the mounting pieces 31C and 32E are adjusted so that the shaft 2D of the first leg 2A is inserted into the notch holes C1 and C3. At this time, the upper case 31 and the lower case 32 are first inserted from the right side or front of the thermally insulated housing 10, and the shaft portion 2D is inserted into the notch holes C2 and C4. Then, the upper case 31 and the lower case 32 are rotated clockwise around the shaft portion 2D, so that the shaft portion 2D of the first leg portion 2A is inserted into the notch holes C1 and C3. In this way, the notch holes C2 and C4 of one of the mounting pieces 31D and 32F are provided along the longitudinal direction, and the notch holes C1 and C3 of the other mounting piece 31C and 32E are provided along the width direction (more precisely, the direction of a circular arc centered on the notch holes C2 and C4), so that the blower unit 30 can be attached more smoothly to the thermally insulated housing 10. In particular, the fact that the blower unit 30 can be attached and detached from the right side or front of the thermally insulated housing 10 is beneficial because it improves the workability of the maintenance of the blower unit 30. Thereafter, as necessary, the blower unit 30 can be fixed to the bottom surface 10B of the insulated housing 10, for example, by fastening the first leg 2A and the second leg 2B to the mounting hole 10C. When mounting the blower unit 30, the upper case 31 and the lower case 32 may both be mounted at the same time, or one of them may be mounted first and the other may be mounted later.

The cooling storage 1 of the above configuration includes a thermal insulation housing 10 having a refrigerator chamber 17 (storage chamber) for storing storage objects, a cooling device 20 for cooling the refrigerator chamber 17, and a blower unit 30 that is provided outside the thermal insulation housing 10 and can blow air along the outer surface of the right side wall (one example of a side wall) of the thermal insulation housing 10. For example, if another cooling storage (not shown) or wall is arranged close to the cooling storage 1 (for example, at a distance of 2 cm or less) due to restrictions on the installation location, the surroundings of the cooling storage 1 cannot be said to be widely open, making it difficult to exchange heat between the thermal insulation housing 10 and the surrounding atmosphere, and the temperature of the outer surface of the thermal insulation housing 10 drops, making condensation more likely to occur. Such condensation can be particularly noticeable in a humid environment such as a kitchen where cooking is performed. However, according to the above configuration, the blower unit 30 can send surrounding air along the outer surface of the right side wall (one example of a side wall) of the thermal insulation housing 10 by rotating and driving the fan 33, thereby promoting heat exchange between the outer surface of the thermal insulation housing 10 and the air. As a result, even if the area around the cooling storage unit is not widely open, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of condensation. Furthermore, even if the distance between adjacent cooling storage units or walls is narrow, it is possible to prevent condensation water from dripping onto the floor, which can be particularly useful when installing the cooling storage unit 1 on a dry floor or a water leak detection floor.

The cooling storage 1 of the above configuration includes legs 2 that support the insulated housing 10 from below, and the blower unit 30 includes an exterior box 30A that is box-shaped and has an inlet hole 35A for taking in air and a long hole H1 (an example of an outlet hole) for sending out air, and a fan 33 (an example of a blower fan) housed inside the exterior box 30A. The exterior box 30A is provided on the bottom surface 10B of the insulated housing 10 with the long hole H1 facing upward, and is provided so that a part of the exterior box 30A protrudes from the bottom surface 10B so that the long hole H1 faces the right side wall. According to the above configuration, the blower unit 30 is installed between the bottom surface 10B of the insulated housing 10 and the floor surface (the installation surface of the cooling storage 1) with only the long hole H1 protruding to the right from the right side wall of the insulated housing 10. This allows the air blower unit 30 to be attached to the cooling storage cabinet 1 without requiring extra installation space compared to when the air blower unit 30 is attached to the right side wall. Also, when the fan 33 of the air blower unit 30 rotates, air below the air blower unit 30 is taken in by the exterior box 30A and discharged through the long hole H1, so that the exterior box 30A functions as a duct. This effectively promotes heat exchange on the outer surface of the right side wall of the insulated housing 10, and more effectively suppresses the occurrence of condensation.

In the cooling storage 1 configured as above, the exterior box 30A has an adjustment hole H2 (second outlet hole) inlet hole on the side (here, the front part 32C and the back part 32D) facing the side opposite the side protruding from the bottom surface 10B in the direction along the bottom surface 10B. With the above configuration, the blower unit 30 can take in air from below into the exterior box 30A and expel it from the long hole H1 and the adjustment hole H2. This promotes heat exchange in the back wall of the cooling storage 1 as well, making it possible to suppress the occurrence of condensation on the back wall.

In the cooling storage 1 having the above configuration, the legs 2 include a first leg 2A that supports the thermally insulated housing 10 at the right front (first position) and a second leg 2B that supports the thermally insulated housing 10 at the right rear (second position different from the first position). The outer box 30A also includes a pair of mounting pieces 31C, 32E and mounting pieces 31D, 32F that extend forward (one side) and backward (the other side) along the front-rear direction (one direction) at the upper end, and the pair of mounting pieces 31C, 32E and mounting pieces 31D, 32F are respectively sandwiched between the first leg 2A and the second leg 2B and the thermally insulated housing 10, thereby attaching the thermally insulated housing 10. According to the above configuration, the air blowing unit 30 can be attached to the thermally insulated housing 10 with good workability by utilizing the leg structure of the conventional cooling storage 1 without using special fasteners or the like. In addition, the air blowing unit 30 is prevented from shifting or falling off due to vibrations caused when the blower fan 33 and the cooling device 20 are driven. This effect is further enhanced if the legs 2 are configured to be fastened to the insulated housing 10. In addition, the number of parts can be reduced.

The cooling storage unit 1 of the above configuration includes an insulated housing 10, a box-shaped storage unit body 11 with an opening 11A at the front, and an insulated door 16 (door) that covers the opening 11A, and the height dimension of the insulated housing 10 is greater than the front-to-rear dimension of the insulated housing 10. A vertical cooling storage unit with a large vertical (height) dimension is more susceptible to condensation when the gap between the adjacent cooling storage unit or wall surface is narrow than a horizontal cooling storage unit with a small height dimension. Therefore, the above configuration is suitable for use in a vertical cooling storage unit with a large vertical dimension, as it can better demonstrate its effects.

<Embodiment 2>
A blower unit 130 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the lower case 132 of the blower unit 130 is provided with an adjustment hole H3 (another example of the second outlet hole) in addition to the adjustment hole H2. The rest of the configuration may be the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description of the similar configuration, action, and effect will be omitted.

More specifically, the adjustment hole H3 is formed in the side (here, side surface portion 32B) of the exterior box 130A facing the side (here, left) different from the side (right) where the exhaust section 31E is provided. The adjustment hole H3 is a through hole with a larger area than the adjustment hole H2. With this configuration, the blower unit 30 can take in air below the thermal insulation housing 10 into the exterior box 30A by the fan 33 and exhaust it from the long hole H1, the adjustment hole H2, and the adjustment hole H3. By rotating the fan 33 of the blower unit 130 in this way, it is possible to create an airflow along not only the outer surface of the right side wall 11C of the thermal insulation housing 10 but also the bottom surface 10B of the thermal insulation housing 10. In this way, by providing adjustment holes H3 on the exhaust section 31E side, in other words, on the side portion 32B (side) facing the opposite side (left side) from the side (right side) that protrudes from the bottom surface 10B of the exterior box 30A, an airflow is created from the right side (outside) of the bottom surface 10B toward the center. This can promote heat exchange even on the bottom surface 10B of the thermally insulated housing 10, and can more effectively prevent condensation from occurring on the outer surface of the thermally insulated housing 10.

<Embodiment 3>
A cooling storage cabinet 201 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8 to Fig. 12. In the cooling storage cabinet 201 of the third embodiment, the heat-insulating housing 10 differs from the first and second embodiments in that it includes an air guide 40. The rest of the configuration may be the same as the first or second embodiment, and a description of the similar configuration, action, and effect will be omitted.

More specifically, the insulated housing 10 of the cooling storage 201 includes a storage body 11 having an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape with an opening 11A in the front, and an insulated door 16 (door) that can open and close the opening 11A. In addition, an airflow guide 40 is provided in the vertical direction along the front end (one example of at least one of the front and rear directions) on the right side wall 11C (side wall) of the storage body 11. The airflow guide 40 is an element that prevents the air sent by the air blowing unit 30 from diverting forward from the right side wall 11C midway in the vertical direction, and guides the airflow to reach above the right side wall 11C. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the airflow guide 40 includes a guide body 41, an upper bracket 42, and a lower bracket 43. The guide body 41, the upper bracket 42, and the lower bracket 43 may be made of at least one of metal and synthetic resin, although this is not limited thereto.

The guide body 41 has a shape in which a long strip-shaped plate piece is bent into a U-shaped cross section, and its length is approximately the same as the height dimension of the insulated housing 10. The guide body 41 includes a front portion 41A arranged on the front side and a pair of side wall portions 41B, 41B extending rearward from both left and right ends of the front portion 41A. The guide body 41 is attached to the storage body 11 so that the front portion 41A is arranged forward and one side wall portion 41B is aligned with the right side wall 11C. The angles formed by the front portion 41A and each side wall portion 41B, 41B are each approximately 90 degrees, and when the guide body 41 is attached to the storage body 11, the front portion 41A is configured to rise to the right (i.e., outward in the left and right direction) relative to the right side wall 11C. The width of the front portion 41A should be approximately the same as the protruding dimension of the air blower unit 30 from the insulated housing 10 (approximately ±30%).

The upper bracket 42 and the lower bracket 43 are mounting jigs for mounting the guide body 41 to the thermally insulated housing 10, and each of them has a connecting portion 42A, 43A that is connected to the guide body 41, and a mounting piece 42B, 43B that is connected to the thermally insulated housing 10. The upper bracket 42 and the lower bracket 43 are configured so that the mounting pieces 42B, 43B are approximately perpendicular to the front portion 41A and the side wall portions 41B, 41B when they are attached to the guide body 41. The connecting portions 42A, 43A and the guide body 41 are connected by a fastener 44 such as a screw. The mounting pieces 42B, 43B are provided with notches C11, C12, respectively. In the upper bracket 42 and the lower bracket 43 of this embodiment, the notches C11, C12 are provided so as to extend from the rear to the front. The mounting piece 42B of the upper bracket 42 is sandwiched between the top surface 10D of the thermally insulated housing 10 and the fixing jig 19B of the side plate portion 19A that defines the machine room 19, as shown in FIG. 11, and fixed by a fastener 44. The shaft portion of the fastener 44 is inserted into the notch C11. The mounting piece 43B of the lower bracket 43 is sandwiched and fixed between the bottom surface 10B of the thermally insulated housing 10 and the leg 2 (first leg 2A), as shown in FIG. 12, for example. The shaft portion 2D of the first leg 2A is inserted into the notch C12.

The above configuration can prevent the airflow generated from the blower unit 30 along the right side wall 11C from deviating forward or backward along the right side wall 11C. This can promote the generation of an airflow that passes through the right side wall 11C in the vertical direction, and can promote heat exchange on the side of the cooling storage 1. This configuration is particularly effective in preventing the generated airflow from escaping through gaps and passing in the vertical direction when one blower unit 30 is equipped with multiple fans 33 or when a strong airflow is generated. In addition, the blower guide 40 of the above configuration does not need to be attached by directly drilling a hole in the insulated housing 10, and is removable, so it can be attached to the insulated housing 10 as needed without reducing the thermal insulation of the insulated housing 10, which is preferable.

<<Fourth embodiment>>
The air guide 140 according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 13 to 15. The air guide 140 according to the fourth embodiment differs from the third embodiment in that it includes an opening H4. The rest of the configuration may be the same as any of the first to third embodiments, and a description of the similar configurations, actions, and effects will be omitted.

More specifically, the air guide 140 includes a guide body 141 and a cover portion 143. The guide body 141 includes an opening H4, which is a hole penetrating the front portion 141A in the thickness direction. The guide body 141 of this embodiment includes a plurality of openings H4 (four in this embodiment) spaced apart along the longitudinal direction, as shown in FIG. 13, for example. However, the guide body 141 may include one opening H4' extending in the longitudinal direction, which is formed by connecting the four openings H4, as shown in FIG. 15, for example. The guide body 141 is opaque and is made of at least one of metal and synthetic resin. The cover portion 143 is an element that covers the opening H4 of the guide body 141, and is formed, for example, to have dimensions that are approximately the same as or slightly smaller than the front portion 141A. The cover portion 143 is in the form of a transparent sheet, and is made of, for example, a synthetic resin sheet. The cover portion 143 is attached to the guide body 141 between a pair of side walls 141B of the guide body 141 so as to cover the opening H4. This creates a window portion W in the guide body 141 that allows the opposite side in the front-to-rear direction to be viewed.

In the air blower guide 140 configured as described above, the guide body 141 is made of an opaque material and has a transparent window W in a portion thereof. The window W may be one relatively large one, or multiple relatively small ones. With this configuration, the occurrence of condensation on the right side wall 11C can be visually confirmed through the window W. This makes it possible, for example, to start the operation of the air blower unit 30 when condensation has occurred, and to stop the operation of the air blower unit 30 when the condensation has disappeared. As a result, the operating costs of the air blower unit 30 can be reduced.

<<Embodiment 5>>
A cooling storage cabinet 201 according to a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 16 and Fig. 17. The cooling storage cabinet 201 according to the fifth embodiment differs from the first to fourth embodiments in that the configuration of the exterior box 230A of the blower unit 230 is different. The other configurations may be the same as any of the first to fourth embodiments, and a description of the similar configurations, actions, and effects will be omitted.

The storage body 11 of the cooling storage 201 has an outer box 12 including a bottom surface 10B made of stainless steel plate (an example of a magnetic material), and the bottom surface 10B functions as an attachment part that can magnetically attract magnets. In addition, the outer box 230A of the blower unit 230 does not have an upper case, but only a lower case 232.

The lower case 232 has a bottom 32A corresponding to the bottom surface of the exterior box 30A, a side surface 32B corresponding to the left side surface of the exterior box 30A, a front surface 32C corresponding to the front surface of the exterior box 30A, a rear surface 32D corresponding to the rear surface of the blower unit 30, a side surface 32G corresponding to the right side surface of the exterior box 30A, and an exhaust section 32H corresponding to a part of the upper surface. The exterior box 230A is roughly box-shaped with an opening toward the top, and the exhaust section 32H is provided in a strip shape along the right end of the upper surface. The exhaust section 32H is designed so that the width dimension is equal to the protruding dimension from the thermal insulation housing 10, and the left end is folded up toward the top. This folded-up portion is used for alignment when attaching the exterior box 230A to the thermal insulation housing 10. Additionally, magnet sections 234 including magnets are provided on the outside of the side section 32B, the front section 32C, and the back section 32D of the lower case 232. These three magnet sections 234 are configured so that the blower unit 230 can be attached to the thermally insulated housing 10 by being magnetically attached to the bottom surface 10B, which is the attachment section.

According to the above configuration, the air blower unit 230 can be easily attached to the insulated housing 10 by simply contacting it with the magnetic adhesion, without using any special fasteners or adopting any complicated mounting structure. In addition, the air blower unit 230 can be easily attached and detached from the insulated housing 10, which is preferable because the air blower unit 230 can be easily attached when necessary depending on the installation conditions of the cooling storage facility.

Sixth Embodiment
A cooling storage cabinet 301 according to the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 18 and 19. The cooling storage cabinet 301 of the sixth embodiment differs from the first to fifth embodiments in that the configurations of the bottom surface 10B of the thermal insulation housing 10 and the exterior box 330A of the blower unit 330 are different. The other configurations may be the same as any of the first to fifth embodiments, and a description of the similar configurations, actions, and effects will be omitted.

The exterior box 330A has a guide case 331 and a slide case 332. The slide case 332 is box-shaped and opens upward by providing a side surface 331E that corresponds to the right side surface of the lower case 32 of the first embodiment. The slide case 332 is also configured such that the front and rear attachment pieces 32E, 32F of the lower case 32 have been removed.

One guide case 331 is configured such that a pair of guide brackets 31G, 31G (an example of a guide portion) are attached to the lower surface of the lid portion 31A of the upper case 31 in the first embodiment at the front (one) and rear (the other) ends along the front-rear direction (an example of one direction). Each of the guide brackets 31G, 31G is a plate piece having a substantially Z-shaped cross section, and includes a base portion 31G1, 31G1, a wall portion 31G2, 31G2, and a support portion 31G3, 31G3. The base portion 31G1, 31G1 is a portion fixed to the lower surface of the lid portion 31A of the upper case 31. The wall portion 31G2, 31G2 is a portion that extends downward from the base portion 31G1, 31G1, and faces each other at the end in the front-rear direction. The support parts 31G3, 31G3 are parts that extend from the lower ends of the walls 31G2, 31G2 to the sides facing each other. The guide case 331 is attached to the insulated housing 10 by being sandwiched between the legs 2 and the bottom surface 10B of the insulated housing 10, similar to the upper case 31 of the first embodiment. The slide case 332 can be inserted into the space defined by the pair of guide brackets 31G, 31G by sliding the slide case 332 to the right, and the slide case 332 is supported from below by the support parts 31G3, 31G3 of the pair of guide brackets 31G, 31G.

In the above configuration, the exterior box 330A includes a slide case 332 that opens upward and houses the blower fan 33, a guide case 331 (an example of a base part) that is provided on the bottom surface 10B of the thermally insulated housing 10 and has a long hole H1 (outlet hole) arranged therein, and a pair of guide brackets 31G, 31G (an example of a guide part) that extend downward at the front (one side) and rear (other side) ends along the front-rear direction (an example of one direction) of the guide case 331 and extend in directions facing each other to support the guide case 331 from below. According to this configuration, the slide case 332 is supported from below by the pair of guide brackets 31G, 31G, and can slide left and right between the pair of guide brackets 31G, 31G (for example, toward the center of the cooling storage 301). With this configuration, the slide case 332 is supported so that it can be inserted and removed from the guide case 331 without using any special fasteners, making it easy to perform maintenance such as replacing the blower fan 33.

<Other embodiments>
The present technology is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings, and for example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present technology.
(1) In the above embodiment, one blower unit 30 is provided with one fan 33, but the number of fans 33 provided in one blower unit 30 is not limited to this, and two or more fans 33 may be provided. In this case, the number of mounting holes C5 and fixing parts 34 provided in the lower case 32 (exterior box 30A) can be changed as appropriate. A blower unit with an increased number of fans 33 can be particularly effective when the exterior box is provided with a large second outlet hole or multiple second outlet holes, for example, as in the blower unit of embodiment 2, because it can exhaust a sufficient amount of air from each outlet hole.

(2) In the above embodiment, the exhaust section 31E of the blower unit 30 has 9 long holes H1 arranged in 3 rows. However, the shape of the exhaust port provided in the blower unit 30 is not limited to long holes, and may be any shape and any number. By configuring the exhaust port as multiple relatively small holes, there is an advantage that foreign matter such as dust is less likely to enter the interior of the blower unit 30. Note that the exhaust port may be covered with a filter or the like to the extent that it does not impair the purpose of the present invention.

(3) In the above embodiment, the shape of the cutout holes C1 to C4 is linear, but the shape of the cutout holes is not limited to this and may be curved, hook-shaped, etc. Also, in the above embodiment, the extension direction of the cutout holes C2, C4 of one mounting piece 31D, 32F is different from that of the cutout holes C1, C3 of the other mounting piece 31C, 32E, but the extension direction of the cutout holes may all be the same. For example, all the cutout holes may be provided along the width direction, and the cutout holes may be fitted to the shafts of the first and second legs by moving the blower unit in the width direction (from a position far from the cooling storage chamber to a position closer to the cooling storage chamber). In this case, there is an advantage that the amount of protrusion of the exhaust part of the blower unit can be easily adjusted.

(4) In the above embodiment, the air guide is provided only at the front end of the right side wall of the cooling storage tank. However, the air guide is not limited to being provided on the right side wall, and may be provided on any one of the right side wall, left side wall, and rear side wall (back wall), or a combination of two or more of them. Furthermore, the air guide is not limited to being provided on the front ends of the left and right side walls, and may be provided on the rear ends, or may be provided on both the front and rear ends of the cooling storage tank.

1,201,301...refrigerated storage (refrigerated storage), 2...legs, 2A...first leg, 2B...second leg, 10...insulated housing, 10B...bottom, 11...storage body, 11A...opening, 11C...right side wall, 16...door, 17...refrigerated compartment (storage compartment), 20...cooling device, 30,130,230,330...air blowing unit, 30A,130A,230A,330A...outer box, 31...upper case, 31C,31D...mounting piece, 31E...exhaust section, 31G,31G...guide bracket (guide section), 32...lower case, 32E,32F...mounting piece, 40,140...air blowing guide

Claims (4)

A heat-insulating housing having a storage chamber for storing an object to be stored;
A cooling device for cooling the storage chamber;
A blower unit provided outside the thermally insulated housing and capable of blowing air along an outer surface of a side wall of the thermally insulated housing;
and a leg portion supporting the heat-insulating housing from below,
The air blowing unit includes an exterior box having a box-like shape and an inlet for taking in air and an outlet for sending out air, and a blower fan housed inside the exterior box;
the exterior box is provided on the bottom surface of the thermally insulated housing with the outlet hole disposed upward, and a portion of the exterior box protrudes from the bottom surface so that the outlet hole faces the side wall,
The outer box is
a slide case that opens upward and houses the blower fan;
a guide case including a base portion provided on a bottom surface of the heat-insulating housing and in which the outlet hole is arranged, and a pair of guide portions extending downward at one end and the other end along one direction of the base portion and extending in directions facing each other to support the slide case from below;
A cooling storage facility. The exterior box has a second outlet hole on a side surface facing a side other than the side protruding from the bottom surface in a direction along the bottom surface.
The cooling storage facility of claim 1. The legs include a first leg that supports the thermally insulated housing at a first position and a second leg that supports the thermally insulated housing at a second position different from the first position,
The guide case of the outer box has a pair of mounting pieces extending in one direction at an upper end, and the pair of mounting pieces are attached to the thermally insulated housing by being sandwiched between the first leg and the thermally insulated housing and between the second leg and the thermally insulated housing, respectively.
The cooling storage facility according to claim 1 or 2. The heat-insulating housing includes a box-shaped storage body having an opening at the front and a door that can open and close the opening,
The cooling storage facility according to claim 1 , wherein a height dimension of the insulating housing is greater than a front-rear dimension of the insulating housing.

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